A few days ago I parked my car under a tree whose sole purpose in life (apparently) is to drop tiny little droplets of SAP on anything that is under it. My car was *covered* with sap from front to back! I'm talking every square inch had little tiny bumps of sap all over.

So I was going to type an exasperated post asking what the hell I should do. I knew this was going to be a total bitch to deal with, and I was not looking forward to it. I was very bummed.

..until this morning..

It rained last night. I get to my car this morning and the sap is gone! All of it! It's incredible.. the rain totally washed it away. I know it defies logic, and I can't make sense of it either, but if your car gets sapped, leave it in the rain.

 

I've had Oak tree sap on my cars before and I always just hit the car wash within a few hours of catching the problem. That's always gotten rid of it for me. Of course, it helps that at any given time my car wears at least 4 coats of Zaino.

 

Most of the "tiny spots of sap" kind of sap I have gotten on the car in the past has pretty much come right off with a spray from the hose if I get to it within a day or two. Let it harden and you're in for trouble

 

Well, that's the thing.. I don't drive much, and I had the car exposed to the sap tree for a few days before I noticed. That means the sap was on at least 3 days. That crap was DRY.

But the rain got it! Amazing!

 

I'm a horticulturist as well as an s2k owner. There is a BIG difference in tree sap and the problem it causes your car finish, dependent on the species of tree that produced the sap. For example, birch tree sap -- along with sap from many trees that drop their leaves in winter -- can often be washed off with nothing more than water if done quickly. On the other hand, pine tree sap -- and that from some other evergreen trees -- often requires rubbing or denatured alcohol to remove. The sap from many species of pine can be the most difficult to remove, and always requires alcohol as the least paint-damaging method of removal.

Thanks,
Richard